Do you find yourself feeling all too exhausted, easily irritated, and mentally bothered lately?

Your boss has been acting grumpy and finicky since the beginning of the week and you’re wondering if it has anything to do with you.

Awful traffic jams, pollution, unfinished report, pending household bills, relationship crisis, etc. All these are enough reasons to make your sanity take the zigzag route leaving you like a giddy chick at the end of the day.

Apparently, in today’s frenetic and gadget-driven world where our lifestyle is marred with so much pressure, it is not surprising if at one point—or two—you’re almost always at the verge of taking some sleeping tablets to prevent yourself from going through the tunnel of stress.

So before you do just that, give yourself the much-needed time out that you deserve. And what better way to breeze away from those energy-draining and mentally-exhausting facts of life than to seek solace to the simple, free-wheeling pleasures which do not necessarily require a huge chunk of your hard-earned money.

Listen to happy music

Yup, you heard it right. Most of the time all it takes is just some lively tune to get you going. It doesn’t matter whether it has got some sappy lyrics or a really Bronx style. What counts is you go with the beat.

So to start the day right, fade in a heart-pumping song while you prepare yourself to get to work. This way, you can up that good mood you haven’t had for quite some time. You might want to try some Pussycat Dolls collection or Rihanna’s funky music. Go with it and liven up the day!

Grab a bite

You can never go wrong with food. We Filipinos just so love to eat. So go ahead and treat yourself to your favorite merienda.

Order your fave ice cream or that freshly baked ensaymada you just love to munch since you were in grade school. Forget about cholesterol once in a while and give yourself a good food-trip.

And if you’re quite big in appetite, treating yourself in a buffet on a weekend is not a bad idea. Sure, it may look boring to do this one alone, but sometimes it’s fun to be just doing things yourself.

Get a new haircut

Need we say more? A lot of us go to a salon when not feeling really good. Girls in particular love different hair styling while guys often do it for sheer hygiene and maintenance.

But it doesn’t matter. Either way, have your hair done by a pro and show off. That chopped style might look fabulous on you or it could be that sophisticated boy’s cut Miranda Hobes had once sported in Sex and the City.

Whatever cut you demand just be sure to enjoy it as if it’s the finest look you ever had in your life.

Go interactive

Try online chat. It may sound quite desperate for you, but yeah, it’s a pretty convenient venue to meet new people since you don’t necessarily have to reveal your name or personal identity.

What’s nice about it is that you can always have the option to meet or not to meet the person. Thus, you don’t have to worry about personal blunders or embarrassment in case your conversation didn’t work out or you say or do something that will make you want to crawl back on your shell right away.

Besides that, the possibility to meet someone rather interesting isn’t a bad idea after all. Good if it happens, likewise you won’t lose anything if at the end of the day you didn’t actually come across with somebody to exchange phone numbers with. That’s all fine as long as you’re not on the edge of harming yourself or the other person.

Explore the Net for your own convenience and make new friends.

Shake your groove thing

Rev up your endorphins (better known as the happy hormones) and shake your booty. No need to be an expert breakdancer to maneuver gracefully.

Just enjoy yourself as if it’s you’ve never rocked that hard before. So, the next time you visit your favorite weekend night spot in town with your friends, remember to show your best moves in the dance floor. Show that little wild side of you by gyrating like selling yourself in an auction.

Be like a child again

I’m not saying you act like a bratty, annoying minor. What I meant is, carry on a laidback behavior as if nothing in the day would upset you.

Set aside all your worries. Don’t take yourself way too seriously. Smile and laugh like there’s no tomorrow.

Enjoy the company of your friends like you used to with your childhood playmates.

Sure it is impossible not to feel stressed out especially at the height of too much work and personal worries. It’s normal and it’s ok but don’t get too overboard in sulking in your anxiety.

Everyone goes through it but you don’t have to live with it. Look at the lighter side and convince yourself that indeed, there’s more to life than killing yourself with too much pressure.

Author’s Note: Article originally appeared in Emanila.com on Feb. 12, 2003